Machine for forming open-end envelops.



JfWBsT. MACHINE POR FORMING OPEN-END ENVELOPS.

APPLIOATION FILED MAY 25, 19o?.

Patented 1390.5, 1911.

10 SHEETS-SHEET 1.

" IIIIIIIHIII l .mi u., m n

MACHINE ron 11031111111 OPEN-BND Envn'LoPs.

- v 1 APPLIUATION'FILED IAT 25, 1907. Y v 1,010,833. v1'11te111111'1-11ec.5,1911.

i MM. v MWM Wolf/140111,( g

J. WEST;4 MACHINE POB. FORMING OPEN-END-ENVELOPB.

APPLIOTION FILED-MAY 25, 1907.

Patned DeG. 5, 1911.

1o sums-SHEET a.

nu@ W60@ mm@ mn l J. WEST. MACHINE FOR FORMING OPEN-END ENVBLOPS.

urmornon mm1; in 2s. 1907.

Patented Dec. v5, 1911.

10' SHEETS-SHEET 5.

J. WEST.

MACHINE FOR FORMING OPEN-END ENVELOPS. APPLICATION FILED MAY z5. 1907.

1,010,833. Patntea-ne.A 5, 1911.

10 SHEETSr-SHEBT 7.

llllllll! J. WEST. RMING OPEN-EN D ENVBLOPS.

MACHINE PoR Fo 4 APPLIOATION FILED .MAY 25. 1907.

Patented Dec. 5, 1911.

l0 SHEETS-SHEET 8.

l JQ WEST. l I y MACHINE FOB FORMING OPEN-BND ENVBLOPS.

- APPLIOATION .FILED MAY-25, 1907. 1,010,833. Patented 1160.5, 1911.

10 SHEETS-SHEET 9. j

WW1/moes 5] wu@ who@ J. WEST. MAGHINBFGR FOBMING OBEN-BND ENVELUPS.

'LPPLIUATIOH FILI-1D nu 25,1907.

Patented Dec. 5, 1911.

UNITED sTATEs yPATENT OFFICE.

vJAMES WEST, or BROOKLYN, NEWYORK, AssIGNOR To WEST ENVELOPE BROOKLYN, NEW YORK, A CORPORATION or NEW YORK.

Specification of Letters Patent.

Patented nee. 5, 1911.

Application filed -May 25, 1907. Serial No. 375,698.

To all whom 'it may concern:

Be it known that I, JAMES WEST, of Brooklyn, in the county of Kings, and in the State of New York, have inventeda certain new and useful Improvement in Machines for Forming Open-End Envelops, and do hereby declare that the following is a full, clear, and exact description thereof, reference being had to t-he accompanying drawings, in which- Figures 1 and 2 are side elevations of the Opposite sides of a machine embodying my invention; Fig. 3 is a plan view of Fig. 1;

Fig. 4: is a section on the line L.1 -4: of Fig. 3

Figs. 5 and 6 are plan views of cutting rolls lused in said machine;'Fig. 7 is a side ele-.

vation of Fig.- 6; Figs. 8 and 9 are respectively a side elevation and a vertical sectional view of folding and cutting devices used in said machine; Fig. 10 is a rear view vof the parts shown in Fig. 8; Fig. 11 is a front elevation of the cutting devices illustrated in Figs.- 5 to 7 Figs. 12, 13 and 14 are respectively a top plan view, a central sectional View, and a sideview of the pasting devices used in said machine; Figs. 15, 16,

17 and 18, are views showing the successive steps of forming an envelop; Figs. 19, 20

and 22 are respectively enlarged views of one of my envelops opened out, partly formed, and completely formed, showing a slightly different modification of the side flaps, Fig. 22 being a sectional View; Figs. A

21 and 23 are respectively enlarged views of the first modification shown, Fig. 23 being a section taken on the line 23-23 of Fig. 18;

and Fig. 24 is a view of the cutter rolls similar to the view shown inf Fig. 6, the cutter rollsin this figure, however,`being constructed to produce the modification -shown in Figs. 19, 20 and 22.

The object of my invention has been to provide a machine for forming open-end envelops, by which such envelops can bev formed with great rapidity and at very low cost; and to such ends, my invention consists in the machine for forming open-end' envelops hereinafter specified.

I have chosen for illustration the machine hereinafter described, but it is to be understood that the invention may take other forms.

The envelop which itis the purpose of my machine to form, consists, as illustrated in Figs. 19 to 23, of a body A having sidel B and C. The side-flaps B flaps B` and C, the latter having strips of adhesive Dalong its longest edge. ,There is also a bottom-Hap E which is held as by a strip of adhesive F, applied to the back of the envelop, there being also a closingflap G. The'completed envelop has the Iiap C folded over the Hap B, and secured thereto by the strip of adhesive D, and the bottom fiap E folded over on top of the iiaps and C may be made slightly longer than the main body-of the envelop, as shown in Figs. 19, 20 22 and 24 forming the projecting portions b and e, and when the bottom fold of the envelop is formed, these portions o and c are folded over, making a double fold that affords a solid bottom for the envelop. In making such envelop by my machine, the strip of adhesive D is supplied continuously along lone edge of the strip of paper H. The strip of paper H is'then scored to form cut-outs I, which delineate the top and bottom edges of the top and'bottom flaps Gand E, and the side edges of the side-flaps B and C. The out-Outs I are then removed, leaving COMPANY, or

'the notches K, after which the scores L,

separating the side-flaps from the body, are

formed. The side-Hap B is then turned over onto the body of the envelop, after which `the side-flap C is turned onto the Hap B and secured thereto. The strip of adhesive F is then applied to the back of the envelop upon the flaps B and C, after which the score M is formed, which marks the line between the top and bottom flaps. The nearly formed envelop isjthen separated along the score M from the body of the strip, and a score N, marking the line between the bottom-flap and the body of the envelop, is next formed, said flap being then turned over to adhere to the strip F, the envelop .being completed by forming the score O, which separates the top flap and the body of the envelop.

I Will now describe one machine whichis suitable for the practice of my invention, but it is' to be understood that the practice of the invention is not to be limited to the use of'this particular machine, but `my, invention may be practiced by any machine which will perform the requisite operations in such order as may be necessary.

Such machine comprises a frame having a' supportat one end for a'r'oll of paper25, the details of which support it is not. im-

From the rod 26 the strip of paper passes beneath a roller 27 and over rollers 28, all

of which rollers may be mounted in stationary bearings on the machine. Above the rollers 28 are cutting-rollers 29, the latter being mounted on a shaft 30 that has bearing in blocks 31 which are mounted in guides 32, there being a spring 33 beneath the blocks, and a screw 34 above the blocks, to enable the shaft 30 to yield. A piece of rubber 35, or other yielding substance, may be placed between the blocks 31 and the screw 34. Each roller 29 consists of a disk 36 having cutting edges 37 and 38, which `respectively Vform the lines P and Q (Fig. 15), and of a body 39 having slots in which are mounted knives 40 and 41, .forming the lines R and S (Fig.4 15). The lines P and Q are substantially transverse to the axis of the rollers 29. The cutting edges 37 and 38 are substantially transverse to the axis of such rollers, and, therefore, only a small portion of such edges is cutting at any given moment. For this reason it is practicable to make such cutting edges with very obtuse angles, and thus to enable them tostand a large amount of cutting without needing sharpening. Hence I form these cutting edges on the separate hardened disks 36. The lines R and S, however, are nearly parallel to the axis of the rollers 29, and,

therefore, cutting takes place along a con.

siderable portion of such knives at the same time. "Therefore, these knives must be sharper than the edges 37 and 38. I consequently make the knives 40 and 41 in the form of separate blades seated in slots in the body 39, and secured therein by screws 42. The cutting edges 37 and 38 preferably cut against a plain, hardened disk 43, forming part of the lower rollers 28, and the knives 40 and 41 cut against pieces of rawhide seated in slots 44 formed in the bodies 45 of the said lower rollers. The upper and lower rollers 29 and 28 are adjustable-along their respective shafts, in order that the same machine may make different widths of envelops.

In order that the cut-outs I may be positively removed, the lower rollers 28 are provided with pins 46 so positioned on the rollers as to be beneath the portions which are to form the cut-outs, and the tension of the strip -of paper forces the pins'through the paper, so that, as shown in Fig. 7 after the cut-outs have been scored, they adhere to and are carried around by the pins. The cut-outs are stripped ofi the pins by plates 47 secured to across-bar 48 of the frame,

tlreplates being provided with slots 49, to

permit the passage of the pins. The plates are adjustably secured to the cross-bar by screws 50 passing through elongated slots 51 in the plates. The cross-bar 48 has trunnions which are adjustably secured by screws 52 in holes formed inplates 53 that are secured to the side-bars of the frame by bolts 54- passing through elongated slots 55 in the plates, the arrangement permitting the-strippcr-plates 47 to be readily adjusted to the desired position relative to the rollers 45.-

The cutting apparatus herein described is not claimed in the present application, but is the subject of a separate application for patent.

From -the cutting apparatus the strip H of paper passes between an upper pair of rollers 56 and a lower pair of rollers 57, the

upper rollers 56 being eac-h provided with a scoring edge 56a for forming thescores L, separating the side-flaps from the body of the envelop. These rollers are j ournaled in bars 58 that are secured to the side-frames by bolts 59 passing through slots in said bars, whereby the positions of said rollers may be adjusted as desired. The pairs of rollers 56 and 57 are adjustably secured to their shafts, so that they may be adjusted for dilierent widths of envelops. After leaving the scoring rollers, the strip H passes over the plate 60 that is adjustably supported by means of yokes or legs 61 and 62,

which are secured to the side-frames by bolts passing through slots in the legs. Warped plates 63 and 64 are respectively secured to strips 65 and '66, which latter are bolted to the plate 60, the said warped plates bein'g for the purpose respectively of partly folding over the side flaps B and C; A second pair of warped plates 67 and 68 is secured to the strips 65 and 66 to complete the turning over and folding down of the side-aps B and C. The strips 65 and 66 are secured to the plate 60 by screws 69 passing through slots 70 in the saidI plate 60, whereby `the warped plates can be adjusted for envelops of different widths. From the plate 60thef strip H passes around a roller 71, being held down upon said roller by a roller 72. The roller 71 has a gripper-plate 73 that is mounted on a shaft 74 journaled in the said roller, the gripper-plate being held against the forward wall of a slot in the roller by the tension of a spring 75 fastened to a pin in the roller, and to an arm 76 that is secured to the shaft 74. The end of the shaft 74 opposite that having the arm 76 is provided with an arm 77 that is adapted to ride over a cam-plate 78 adjustably secured in a fixed position, so that the said cam-plate vibrates the arm 77 in opposition to the tension ofthe spring 75, thereby moving the gripper-plate 73 away from the front wall of its slot. The cam-plate 78 is so positioned 150 and aspriug 81 may be riveted to the tricher#- 1 blade and bear against the wail of the slot,`

that this shall occur at the same time that atucker-blade 79, yieldingly mounted in a slot in a roller v80, comes between the gripper-plate 73 and the'front wall of its slot, so that a fold ofthe paper is tucked between ,the gripper-plate and-the front wall of its .slot,.fthereby orming-thebottom fold N of the envelop; The maker-blade 79 may be loosely mounted in its-slot-in: therolle'r 80,

ofthe roller. 80 and is engaged by hooks 7 9 that are pivoted to the roller 80, and thus serve to hold the blade in its slot. The roller 80 also carries ,a scoring-plate 82 that is adapted to force the paper into `a score 83 formed v in the `said roller 71, to. form the vscore 0l at the baseof the closing4ilap of the envelop.` The roller 80 also carries -a imiagsi,

' that isjadaptedto cutagainst the roller 71,

and 101, in which is and severthe blanl forming the score M. y

Beneath the roller 71 is a roller 85 that ybears against'the said roller. The'bo-ttomy Hap of the envelop strikes this roller and is turned over against the body yofthe envelop. In order tok securethe bottom iiap to the bottom of the envelop,I the strip F of paste is'applied to the bottom of the envelop in the following manner: A paste-"pan 87 is.

from the strip H by mounted upon brackets 88, and has jour#- naled thereon a dipping-roller- 89. The amount` of'paste taken up by the dipping -rolle'r'is regulated by a rod 90that is held at theA desired distance from the roller 89 by thumb screws 91. The paste-pan carries arms 92- having slots formed therein, in 'which are. journaled a series of transfer `rollers 93, 94 and 95, whereby paste is taken from the roller 89 and conveyed to a point A shaft 96 is journaled in blocks 97 mounted in brackets above the screw/S99. -The shaft 96carries arms 100 journaled a glue-applying roller 102. A spring 103 secured to the shaft 96 and resting against the bearing bracket, tends to hold the roller 1'02 away from the` paper. The roller 102 is depressed upon the Apaper atthe proper time by the engagement of aplate 104 that is adjustably mounted on the roller 71, with a cam-arm 105 that is preferably formed in one piece with the arm 100. Thus the roller 102 takes paste from the roller 95 andapplies' `it at the proper time to A form the strip}3`..jf. I The roller'L-is journaled in fixed bearmgs.

106 mounted guide ways formed in a carried around by the roller preferably having a blunt edge,

chine.

The roller isjournaled in` blocks vroller A71.

Ithe roller being determined by screws 108. The paste-pan 87 together with its rollers.

the roller 95 in proper relation to the roller- .l02, and whereby the entire apparatus can vbe removed. The

tween guides on the brackets 88 :in Vplace by bolts 111.

to yieldingly hold the tucker-blade in posij tienerl The blade 79 .projects beyond the ends.

pan 87 is mounted be` The frame is pro-vided with a vertical bearing 112, in which is mounted a rockshaft 113, carrying an arm 114, that projects acrossthe path of the envelops as they are 71. rlhe arm 114 is swung into a position close to and .parallel with the roller .71 by a spring 115 ncoiled on the shaft 113 and engaging the bearing 112 and a collar on the said shaft.v The arm 1141s swung away from the roller by engagement oft-a pin 116 on a rock arm 117 carried by the shaft 113, with a cam 118, on the shaft of the roller 7l. As the closing flap tends to stick to the roller 71,v -the arm -114 swings in and strikes the body of the envelop, causing t-he envelop to become detached from the roller 71,`but as this can only take placeafter the bottom fold of the envelop has been released from the kgripper (which action does not take place until after the gripper has passed the arm 114) the arm 114 is held out of the way' until the gripper has releasedv the bottom `fold, and the envelop has dropped, when the arm 114 swings over the body of the eu `velop, and thus releases the closing flap from the roller.

The gearing for driving t-he parts of lsaid machine is simple. v

'Power is applied to the driving shaft 119, which carries 'a. gear 120, with the usual clutch 121 fora-engaging and disengaging said gear. for turning the parts of the machine by hand in ad] ust-ing and inspect-ing the ma-v The gear 120 meshes with a gear 122- journaled on the frame of the machine, and the latter gear, by means of an idler 123, drives a gear 124 on the shaft of the roller- 28, the roller 29 being driven by a gear 125 meshing with the gear 124.. The gear 124 also meshes with a gear 126 on the shaft of the roller 27, and the latter gear meshes with a gear 127 on the shaft of the adjacent paste roller 127a of the ordinary type. The gear 122, by means of an idler 128, transmits motion to a gear 129 on the shaft of the roller 71, the lattertgear driving gearsl 130 and 131, which are respectively on the shafts ofthe rollers 80 and72. The shaft of the `roller carries a pinion132 which receives motion from a pinion 133 on the shaft oi the rlhe paste rollers 89, 93, 94, and 95 have intermeshinggears 134, '135, 136 and and secured The shaft also has a hand-wheel 137 respectively, the gear134 meshing with an intermediate gear 138 mounted on al bracket 139, the gear 138 receiving motion from a gear 140 on the shaft of the roller 80. 5 The operation of t-he foregoing machine has been fully indicated in the description of the machine, but it maybe briefly summarized as follows: The paper on the roll passes beneath the paste roller 27, and the strip of paste D is applied thereto. The paper passes over the roller 28, and is impaled upon the pins 46 at the point where the cut-outs are to be removed. The cut-outs are scored and by the joint action of the pins 46 and the plate 47 are removed from the paper, thus forming the side-flaps and side-edges of the top and bottom iaps. The paper passes up along the plate 60, folding 4 over the side-flap B and then the side-fla C, the strip of paste D serving to secure t ese flaps together. The pa er then passes over the roller 71 and has t e strip of paste F applied thereto. The bottom fold of the envelop is then engaged in the gripper, the lower portions b and c of the side-flaps being engaged in said gripper so as to be folded over and to form a solid bottom of the envelop. As the envelop proceeds, the bottom flap strikes the roller 85 and is folded over onto the side flaps B and C, and is irmly pressed down on the strip of paste F. Meanwhile the arm 114 has been swung out of the Way. The knife 84 then severs thc envelop from the blank, after which the gripper lets go of the bottom fold of the envelop, the envelop swinging down, and the y arm 114 swings overthe envelop to detach the closing iap from theroller 71.

' I claim 1. In an envelop ymaking machine, the

combination of means for feeding a strip of paper, means for cutting out portions at the edges of such strip to form side flaps and the side edges of the top and bottom flaps, means for folding the side flaps over one another, means'for folding over an end flap, and means for severing the blank from the strip along a line producing an anon larly-pointed top flap and a bottom {Iap having a rentrant angle.

2. In an envelop-making machine, the combination of means for feeding a strip of paper, means for applying'a single continuous strip of adhesive along the edges of such strip, means for cuttin outportions of the f edges of such strip to form side iaps along the edges, means for. folding over the side flaps, means for folding over an e-nd flap, and means for severing the blank from the strip, said means being provided with mechanical connections to cause them to operate in the order named.

3.5 In an envelop machine, the combination of means for ,feeding a strip of paper,

- 6b means for applying a strip of adhesive along ythe edge of such strip, means for cutting out portions alpng the edges of the strip to form side aps and the side edges of the top and bottom flaps, means for folding over the unpasted side flap, means for folding over the pasted side flap, means for forming a fold in the free end of the envelop, in a line crossing the side flaps, means for applying paste to secure the end lia-p1, means for folding the end flap, and means for severing the blank.

4. In an envelop machine, the combination of means for feeding a st-rip of paper, means for applying a strip of adhesive along the edge of such strip, means for cutting out portions along. the edge of such strip before any portions are cut therefrom to form side flaps and the side edges of the top and bottom flaps, means for folding over the unpasted side Iiap, vmeans for folding over the pasted side flap, means for forming a fold in the free end of the envelop in a line Acrossing the side flaps, means for applying paste to secure the end Hap, means for folding the end flap, and means for severing the blank, said several means being provided with mechanical connect-ions to cause them to operate in the order named.

5. In an envelop machine, the combination of means for feeding a strip of paper, means for applying a strip of adhesive along `the edge of such strip, means for cutting out portions along the edge of such strip, to form side flaps and the side edges of the top and bottom flaps, means for :folding over the.unpasted side flap, means for folding over the pasted side flaps, means for forming a fold in the free end of the envelop, in a line crossing the side flaps, means for applying paste to secure the end flap, means for folding the end iiap, means for ap lying paste to the back of the side flaps fore the bottom iiap, and means for severing the blank, said several means acting in the order named.

6. In an envelop machine, the combination of means for forming an envelop blank from a strip of paper, means for folding the flaps at the sides of the strip of paper, a roller having a gripper, a roller having a `t-ucker blade, said gripper and tucker blade coacting to form a fold transverse to the direction of motion, a third roller that is adapted to turn over and press down the end flap at t-he gripper, means on said seclao ond rollerfor creasing the remaining end v v lng one edge of the envelop,

" vedge ofthe envelop While the mainportion by said gripper, whereby to detach the remaining portionsgof theenvelop from vsaid roller. l l

8. In an envelop machine, the combination of means for forming an envelop, comprising a roller having a'gripper for holda roller adapted to press the envelop against the under side of said first mentioned roller, means for causing said gripper to release the forward of the envelop is on the under side of said' roller, a pivoted arm, and means for retracting said arm being released by said gripper, and means for swinging said arm into the pat-h of said envelop after it has been so released. v

In testimony that I claim the' foregoing I have hereunto set my hand.

Y JAMES WEST. Witnesses: V

' EDWIN J.,PR1NDLE,

LiLLIE CASS.

Copiesofthis patent may be obtained for ve cents each, by addressing the Commissioner of Patent Washington, D. C.

While said envelop folds, after 15Av 

